A BIG MOMENT FOR IMPACT WRESTLING MANAGEMENT, UPDATED LINEUPS FOR THIS WEEKEND'S STREAMING SPECIALS AND MORE

To say Impact Wrestlng was elated yesterday about the announcement that their parent company, Anthem, had taken over majority ownership of AXS TV would be a supreme understatement. This had been the moment that Impact had been waiting for, sitting on pins and needles, for months on end. The deal being consumated means that for the first time in years, Impact will soon have a TV home that a good percentage of the cable and satellite viewing audience has the ability to watch. It also puts Anthem in business with AEG, which has countless potential venues Impact could run down the line and with Steve Harvey, both of which are phenomenal partners to be in business with. It also takes the pressure off Impact. They no longer have to worry about tomorrow or the day after tomorrow and can instead concentrate on putting together the best product they can have today.

Anthem owner Les Asper stated that yesterday's deal will not be the final one Anthem makes, telling Multichannel News, “By no means do we want to stop here. I don’t think we have enough scale. This is a good start, but yes, we are looking for other opportunities. We want to grow with as much proprietary content as we can. That’s a very important part of our growth plan, owning content. We believe owning the content and putting it on our channels, but also having it on other people’s platforms as well. I call that untethered vertical integration.” Asper stated in the same interview that AXS TV will remain the network that people have known and have come to expect.

We have received a lot of questions asking when Impact will debut on AXS TV. That is something that is being sorted out as AXS comes under the Anthem umbrella. It likely won't be in the next week as Impact will have to roll out a finishing date with The Pursuit Network and figure out the best cause of action in terms of moving and marketing that move to AXS. Make no mistake though, this was a moment for the company that was very much similar to Indiana Jones pulling himself out of certain doom, like a cliffhanger serial of old, and landing on two feet, safe and sound, ready for the next fight.

We are told there are already new Impact logos designed for this new chapter of the company. One source noted there will be a new green color scheme as well.

The unfortunate underside of this, and all such situations sich as this, is that there will be staff let go from AXS. Cindy Ronzoni from the network's PR department, who was absolutely great in all my dealings with her related to pro wrestling programming on the network, announced today that she had been let go by the network as a result of the sale:

Sadly today I was laid off from the AXS TV due to the sale. I had a wonderful six-year run there heading the PR efforts and am excited about new possibilities. If anyone needs a creative and innovative publicist - please let me know. #TCA19

Impact Wrestling announced the following matches for this Friday's "Operation:Override" Twitch Special from Lawton, Oklahoma at the Comanche County Fairgrounds in conjunction with The Sooner State's World Class Revolution promotion:

Impact also announced Moose vs. UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar for Victory Road this Saturday with the idea that Moose is facing another MMA specialist en route to Ken Shamrock at Bound for Glory. Previously announced for the special, which will air on Impact+ and FITE.tv from The Stride Bank Center in Enid, OK is Michael Elgin vs. TJP, Sami Callihan vs. Hawk, Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary for the Knockouts Championship, plus MVP, Impact Champion Brian Cage, Moose, Rosemary, Chavo Guerrero Jr. and more scheduled to appear.

A huge thank you to Steven Fernandes for his assistance.

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